Hand me the jump leads, the chickens have escaped.

I was very tired after the conference, so I went to bed early with the hope of getting rid of my horrible headache. The next day I began my work at the Oregon Humane Society, an annual event in which I dedicated weeks of helping with their summer day camps.

Morning came, my headache was still there, and I dragged my feet as I walked into the Humane Society’s meeting room. Most of the kids, about 30, were already there.

"SARA!!!"

Wow. This was the first year anyone actually remembered my name right off the bat! Many of my friends from last year had returned, and we were all in charge of training the kids to become Junior Aides. Strange thing about those friends from camp, you only speak to them for one or two weeks, but then a year later you still have the same relationship as you did in the last camp. It’s odd.

I was a "Senior Aide" again, and it was just as well; I have been going to these camps for nine summers. This just means that I was second in command, I have to watch over the kids that are watching over the younger kids in the camps that come later on.

Soon my energy came back. Later on I got to spend some time with the rabbits as the rest of the campers learned the basics of dog body language. I really want a rabbit, and they had some cute ones there for sure. However, I’m not sure if it would be a good time to get one: I only have two years until I head out for college and rabbits live longer that that..

So no rabbit then, instead I got sick. Sad days, I believe it to be another sinus infection. As a result, I went home early and slept.

Today I thought I was going to watch Fahrenheit 9-11 with Max, but my dad scheduled a dinner in it’s place. It was very strange.. my dad never cancels on our plans.. I guess he thinks we’re still going or something, I don’t really understand. It’s too hard to think with this headache.

Oh, but he gave me a book yesterday. It’s a new translations of the Psalms. Most Bibles have the Hebrew to Latin to English translations, but this book has all the psalms translated directly from Hebrew to English. I was surprised how different they were. In most spots where my old bible says "Those who fear the Lord" the new psalms say something more like "Those who love the Lord" or "Revere." Interesting to read.

I wish I didn’t have to do anything this summer. Oh well, next week is basically free, maybe I can blow something up with Max and Diana.

Philippians 4:8

I went on the retreat, or "conference" rather, with little expectations and not too much uh, enthusiasm.

Sure, God.. yay! Don’t get me wrong, I was always all for God (or so I felt) but I hadn’t felt truly full spiritually for a year or more. So I got on the bus and rode, adding up the hours until I got to go home again.

Now I am home and the conference was…. It was, well.. I can’t even begin to describe some of the things that happened.

It was great. It wasn’t the 700+ teenagers singing and clapping, it wasn’t the speakers, it wasn’t even the Mass really, I just surrendered. It was really hard to do.

I’m not going to say I’ve "become a different person," I’m not some great believer, I just came a step closer to being one with God. It was the best night of my life, kneeling down in the dark, totally surrendering everything and just not caring about.. anything really, just focusing on God. Some things that happened.. I’m not sure what they were, but they have given me a taste of wisdom that I grip on tightly and will forever hold in my heart. It’s left me thirsty for more, and I can only pray I will have the conviction to continue to press on further in faith.

I’m excited! There are defiantly things in the Catholic Church, those nit-picky dealings with homosexuality, awareness of sin, and others that I do not believe. But it doesn’t matter. God is God, he’s there and I don’t really know if it matters what religion you are, he will let you in.

Some of the speakers there were "meh," but there was this one priest with a strange, Brooklyn + Jamaican accent. He was a touch crazy, but he was just the coolest! He talked about all religions, mostly Islam, and how it’s important to show submission to God and obey. He was really funny too.

Wow, great sentence structure. This looks like something I might have written in sixth grade or so.. mustn’t ramble, I’m just excited! This is really just a personal reflection to remind myself of this feeling, this incredible feeling…

Yay! : )

I can half-pipe up any ollie!

Diana wasn’t my first choice to snuggle up with in my bed last night, but it couldn’t be avoided. I didn’t expect her to be the one to get so freaked out by Sleepy Hollow. So far I hadn’t screamed much except whe… AAAAH!!! O.o….. sorry Diana.. did.. did I leave a mark on your arm? Okay, good..

We didn’t get much sleep afterwards; finally turning off the lights around 2:00 am, only to be awakened at 8:00 by my sister.

For that today was the Zumiez 2004 Couch Tour! What a great way to spend the day: standing for hours in shorts (damn you weather.com, it wasn’t 85° and partly cloudy!) while little punk skaters wandered around screaming and asking for free things.



I guess the actual skate "demo" was okay, except that they sucked. They didn’t "land" their "sick" tricks 50% of the time, tending to "bail" so I didn’t even get to see any serious injuries. Not too "rad" but better than just standing around.

After the little show had ended everyone raced over to get autographs. Everyone besides Bridget and I, that is. We wend over to the Body Shop for the sale.. again.

2 hours later Diana was finally getting her posters signed. Afterwards I wanted one so I got one over the fence in like five seconds.

The parking lot became the scene of an elderly person's worst nightmare; long-haired, acne ridden, disrespectful teenagers roaring around on skateboards. Disregard for personal safety seemed to be their chief characteristic as they road in front of cars and TriMet buses, on their way to attempt to go up the escalator on their boards.

"Security two, security two, we are on the lookout for a white, teenaged male with baggy clothing, long hair, and a skateboard."

Good luck!

It’s true that "they" are not all bad, but personally I would have rather stayed home. I’m glad Diana had a good time though.


In other news:
I got Gmail! Killer.

Off Tune Terrors!

My brother and his two friends (with far too many instruments between them) are staying the night. Luckily they don't use the computer much, but their singing can still be heard throughout every corner of my home, besides the upper bathroom.

They're singing now. Click at your own risk.

In other news, 4-sided nail files are great and my boyfriend got gmail! Please don't hound him for invites unless you are very rich or pretty.

Racing Shadows

I ran hard and fast, not daring to think or look around. Finally I came to the familiar grounds of Putnam, and collapsed down on the grass.

The sky was darkening. Pale orange and pink shone faintly, ebbing away into the dark blue of night. I studied the black silhouettes of trees and houses, laying my head against my arms and catching my breath.

Soon I began again, walking past the darkened windows of the empty school building. The shadowed chairs and desks created an eerie sense of emptiness. I stopped and looked into the Lone Gunman’s faithful computer lab. It seemed much as it always was, a hint of numerous boxes left the reminder of things past.

I continued on down the silent path and noticed a light coming from a room ahead. It was a computer, the screen displaying unanswered emails. Strange, but I figured the teachers would probably be in the next day. One of them had most likely forgotten to turn it off as they left, or just didn’t want to.

I walked on further and glanced in another room. Silence. Suddenly- movement from inside and a cracking sound- I took off running

The burst of adrenaline made me forget my side ache until I reached the low end of the football field. There I sat and blinked slowly in the twilight and wondered how sleeping in the heat could make someone irritable. Didn’t want to worry my mother, time to go home… past the windows..

Long grass, distant barking of a dog, a whisper, mosquitoes threatening to bite, somewhere I jumped on the curb to avoid being hit by Dan Zehrung, then finally home.

Sara vs Sarah

A few people believe that everyone has a twin somewhere out there in the world. I have never subscribed to this theory, citing the incalculable variations in genetic codes. However, there are others that share enough similarities with ourselves to make us feel a bit uncomfortable.

I’m still not sure why I’m going out for cross country this year, but nevertheless I woke up early to start running. Afterwards I looked online to see if my school had a webpage for track, but I couldn’t find anything besides a few articles about last year’s team. What I did find within these articles was a bit unnerving.

It was the simple name: Sarah. I suppose it wouldn’t be so strange if that wasn’t MY name! All right, I knew there was another Sarah (there are three around Milwaukie, actually, all related) but still. According to her records, she’s very good at cross country.

It’s bad enough my name isn’t original, but now there’s a girl of my same age, grade, sex, AND name running against my team this year! Won’t that be odd?

"In our next race we have Sara against Sarah!"

Mind boggling, simply mind boggling. She’d better not have brown hair.

The chance to beat "myself" in a race has really encouraged me to run more and more! I went out again this evening and ran until my thighs were numb, nose bleeding, and my throat scratched. I’ve just gotta beat this other Sarah.. I don’t even know why. More than anything I just want to meet her and see what she looks like. Hopefully I’m taller.

Once at the orthodontist they mixed up our records, so I ended up wearing her rubber bands for a month. It’s a good thing the other OTHER Sarah doesn’t go there or who knows what would happen!

If there’s one thing the other Sarah and I can agree on, it’s that the other OTHER Sarah is spoiled. She has a tugboat named after her. What nerve, I came first, I should get a tugboat. Wait, maybe it’s the other Sarah who’s name is on the tugboat. Either way, a hobo once lived in the lower cabin. It can’t be that great of a tugboat.

My grandpa thought I went to the family reunion a few, but really he talked to the other Sarah. Mr. Cauthers thought I ran xcountry last year, but that was the other Sarah.

I wonder what she looks like.. I wonder if she’s going out with someone named Max or Mark.. or maybe Moe. Maybe her best friend is an Asian and a crazy girl named like.. Bridgett with an extra T on it for no reason. After all, Sarah does have that extra, unnecessary H. As a general rule extra things slow you down. Sure.. she may have gotten first in a bunch of different races, but you just wait and see!


"I was much distressed by next door people who had twin babies and played the violin; but one of the twins died, and the other has eaten the fiddle - so all is at peace."
-Edward Lear

Alas, poor Yorick!

In notice that I was free of Bryan’s questions in respect to my undergarments, I decided to wear the second shirt pillaged from the senior locker. It was a nice tan one, untouched the previous day due to it’s certain high level of exposure and the aforementioned boy’s tendency to observe such clothing features. Not fully disregarding the modest tone, I did wear a small green-laced piece underneath.

Nevertheless, my high disclosure certainly increased exposure in respect to ultraviolet rays. As it was cloudy, I brought no sunblock, and thus spent several hours watching the Dragon Boat races unaware I was burning my skin. The end of the long, long day left me with a hefty dark pink and painful burn all around my upper torso. Youch.

The constant cloudy weather certainly has left a mark on my energy level. It’s lead me to go to sleep early for the past few nights, but I wake up feeling more tired than I was before. I keep thinking that a good sunny day will bring me back up; hope I’m right. Or maybe I should exercise more. Mmm, aerobics.

Tomorrow is my sister’s 20th birthday. I got her a gift certificate to The Body Shop. I really like that store, but it’s so expensive. Anyway, she’s throwing this big party tomorrow night, she said she invited 43 people. Mrrr, I don’t know if they’ll all show up but hopefully not. The rain will keep them all inside and I think the contractor said the Maximum Capacity for my house is only 40! Adding myself and other family members not included on the list, as well as the monster in my closet, and we’re at the risk of breaching 50.

DUN DUN DUNNNN!

Time to go clean the bathroom.

Pillage the Lockers and Feed the Ducks

The assumed antic disposition brought on by the social norm to find no pleasure in education was not found at this end of the school year. Perchance the clouded weather, or the hair parted slightly from the center, created the off feeling in which one could simply not believe it was summer vacation.

Regardless of my own beliefs, I had still managed to get my two coats locked in the Journalism after school. After I had retrieved them and returned the keys, I sat down on the pavement and looked at the sprinkling rain covering the courtyard. It was odd how often laughter sounded like sobbing, and the uneven breaths of crying could be mistaken for chuckles.

Today was a day to feed the ducks. So we did.

"We walked away from the boat launch after we had run out of bread. There was this little island thing where geese were sleeping and we decided to build a bridge and cross over there. It wasn’t a very good bridge; just a jumble of sticks and stones so of course we fell off into the water.

"Anyway, after we had stood around on the goose island for awhile, we saw this guy in a Jeep coming. He just drove through the water and stopped, then he got out and stood around.

"The man made us uncomfortable so we headed back towards the mainland. The man got back into his Jeep and started driving towards us so I ran across the water. He stopped by Bridget and Diana and asked if they wanted a ride. Of course, they said no.

After that the man looked a bit cross, rolled up his window, and left the park. Creepy!"

Looks clear from Far Away

Perhaps it was the sheer randomness of it, or maybe the struggle to piece it all together, but hanging that giant picture of Donald Rumsfeld in the hallway of Rex Putnam seemed incredibly entertaining. I can’t say it made much of an impact, but it was fun!

This was certainly an interesting way to start off the week. I hope the last three days go as well, and hopefully I’ll continue to get better and ditch my sore throat. Stupid sickness!

I felt really happy today though. Maybe it was the Rumsfeld.. but I think it was mainly because Max was there and Bridget seemed in a chipper mood and Diana was.. Diana. Also, I've put away the hardest finals! :)

Bridget has challenged me to a bake off. I know what she’s making, this gives me something of an advantage, but now I have to find a killer eggless recipe before Friday. I have to win! Well, actually, I just really want to eat some of her pie. You know what they say: all’s well that ends well, but it’s still well if you eat well.

Al-Israa 17 53

The weather has been remarkably dreary, at least it appears to have been through my low window. I’ve been lounging about my room under blankets, sleeping and reading in the hopes of recovering from my lovely little sinus infection. My right eye bothered me the most, especially while I tried to finish reading Harry Potter.

When I had finished that I moved on to the Qur’an and Bible. It was quite fascinating to read the Islamic account of the crucifixion (they say it didn’t happen of course, but there was an interesting article about the opinion that there had been a stand in for Jesus and they killed that guy instead). Then I read the book of Revelations again, finding my own meaning amongst the tales of dragons and women and white horse, the red horse, the black horse and the pale horse.

I don’t really like the way the Qur’an is written, it seems like a list of statements more than a story. The Bible tells everything more like a story, but I wish some of the books were in first person, it would seem more real that way.

Two days of rest and solitude allowed me to dwell on many things. I lay across the bedspread under the filtered light of the blinds and thought, slowly playing with the wax of the dying candle. Then I would sleep, and sleep some more.

I wonder how I could be less annoying. I feel annoying lately. Maybe I should talk less, type less.. do.. less? Or do more?? My original outlook of "not worrying" has seemed to land me in a bit of trouble. But then, I do have a horrible habit of reading too much into things. I’m just crazy. I hear that’s a bad thing.

Well, regardless of the doctrines of craziness, my eye seems to be able to open all the way and I expect to be present for the remaining four days of school. With any luck I’ll manage to excel in my physics test and raise my grade back up to an A, I’m not too worried though. Never worried… baaah!

I emailed my favorite news reporter at the Oregonian today. I wonder if he’ll email me back!!! That would be totally awesome. I’m not really expecting a reply, but it would be neat.

In other news: I don’t think I’ll get a rabbit unless I find a really cute one in need of a home at the Humane Society. After all, I will be there for four weeks so I can get to know them.


Stay out of trouble.

Eyes Open to Pity

Two long hours of names, many holding no meaning for me. They passed all too slowly only to be followed by worn songs and uninspiring photos. I feel little attachment for the graduating seniors, though their absence is heavily felt in areas of which they often frequented. There are a handful, though, who’s jokes will be missed and personalities and leadership longed for.

A new method to the madness: blatant disregard of the maltreatment and cries for attention. At first it was difficult, but my mind easily wanders away from such matters, pulling my heart, in most cases, with it. At this time libidinous thought sway too easily, like the filtered sunlight passing swaying branches. I close my eyes or look away, and even act. I’ve never done that before with this.

The car was very warm inside; the distant hint of tobacco and velvet provoked an unexpected but voluntary calm. Emotion was gladly put on hold in favor of the bright inclination of green leaves and blue sky; gentle vibrations of familiar roads, avoided glances, and good-natured breezes from the open windows.

Growing want to stay out of the school building has made the last few days crawl by at a pace almost unbearable. When school loses the little meaning it once held I find it difficult to swallow any more.

Still, with everything as it is, there is always the unchangeable peace in his arms. A true escape.

"Only" six more days until summer!